Easing Net rules won’t change politics?’
Ansley Ng
[email protected]
THE Opposition candidate at the centre of a storm in the 2006 General Election has returned, this time with a doctorate — and a thesis which says that the liberalisation of political content online will notloosen the grip of the ruling party here.
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Dr James Gomez (picture), who was embroiled in a furore over his election papers two years ago, spoke to reporters on the sidelines of a convocation ceremony at the Ritz Carlton on Friday, where he received his doctorate from Monash University.
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Releasing a summary of his thesis to the media, he said the freedom to distribute alternative political content through the Internet will not lead to a change in electoral results.
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Pointing to statistics, he said through three elections the past 12 years, alternative Internet content — seen by some to “mitigate censorship and bias” reporting of the mainstream media — has had no effect on the overall results of the People’s Action Party.
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Dr Gomez caused a stir in the 2006 polls after his Minority Certificate application was not submitted. He initially blamed the Elections Department for losing his form but video evidence showed that he had not handed over the papers.
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After he was let off with a police warning for using threatening language against a civil servant, he flew to Sweden where he worked as a policy analyst at think tank International Idea.
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He relocated to Tokyo and is now a visiting scholar at Keio University’s political science department.
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Dr Gomez’ findings contradict what has been said by Mr Cheong Yip Seng, chairman of the Advisory Council on the Impact of New Media on Society, about relaxed regulations on politics and new media.
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The Government recently announced that online political content would be liberalised, with Mr Cheong saying the new rules would have a “profound” effect on the electoral process.
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“It’s a very clear acknowledgement that the new media is an important part of the exercise and how you use it can have a big influence on the vote,” he said at a press conference last month.
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Dr Gomez said such arguments do not hold water because the electoral process in Singapore is unshakeable.
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Come the next election, which is expected in 2011, there would be “no more the surprise of YouTube”, like what happened in 2006 when videos of rallies and speeches were posted online.
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With the relaxation of rules, poltical parties which were not so active on using videos, will be more open to using the Internet, he said.
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Asked about his own participation in local politics, Dr Gomez, who would return permanently to Singapore in December, remained coy.
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“I think it’s a little too far ahead, but I’d be happy to discuss this further when I return in December, when I have time to settle down,” he said, adding that he would meet several of his “colleagues” in the Workers’ Party before returning to Japan next week.
Ansley Ng
[email protected]
THE Opposition candidate at the centre of a storm in the 2006 General Election has returned, this time with a doctorate — and a thesis which says that the liberalisation of political content online will notloosen the grip of the ruling party here.
.
Dr James Gomez (picture), who was embroiled in a furore over his election papers two years ago, spoke to reporters on the sidelines of a convocation ceremony at the Ritz Carlton on Friday, where he received his doctorate from Monash University.
.
Releasing a summary of his thesis to the media, he said the freedom to distribute alternative political content through the Internet will not lead to a change in electoral results.
.
Pointing to statistics, he said through three elections the past 12 years, alternative Internet content — seen by some to “mitigate censorship and bias” reporting of the mainstream media — has had no effect on the overall results of the People’s Action Party.
.
Dr Gomez caused a stir in the 2006 polls after his Minority Certificate application was not submitted. He initially blamed the Elections Department for losing his form but video evidence showed that he had not handed over the papers.
.
After he was let off with a police warning for using threatening language against a civil servant, he flew to Sweden where he worked as a policy analyst at think tank International Idea.
.
He relocated to Tokyo and is now a visiting scholar at Keio University’s political science department.
.
Dr Gomez’ findings contradict what has been said by Mr Cheong Yip Seng, chairman of the Advisory Council on the Impact of New Media on Society, about relaxed regulations on politics and new media.
.
The Government recently announced that online political content would be liberalised, with Mr Cheong saying the new rules would have a “profound” effect on the electoral process.
.
“It’s a very clear acknowledgement that the new media is an important part of the exercise and how you use it can have a big influence on the vote,” he said at a press conference last month.
.
Dr Gomez said such arguments do not hold water because the electoral process in Singapore is unshakeable.
.
Come the next election, which is expected in 2011, there would be “no more the surprise of YouTube”, like what happened in 2006 when videos of rallies and speeches were posted online.
.
With the relaxation of rules, poltical parties which were not so active on using videos, will be more open to using the Internet, he said.
.
Asked about his own participation in local politics, Dr Gomez, who would return permanently to Singapore in December, remained coy.
.
“I think it’s a little too far ahead, but I’d be happy to discuss this further when I return in December, when I have time to settle down,” he said, adding that he would meet several of his “colleagues” in the Workers’ Party before returning to Japan next week.
